Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for controlling a printing process, in particular an offset printing process, wherein prepress data are generated and are then supplied to a data processing unit, in particular a Raster Image Processor (RIP), and then to a printing press.
Today, the printing process usually begins at a prepress stage, where an original image to be printed is created. In several following process steps, that original image is used to produce a required number of printing plates. According to conventional printing processes, that means that color separations are created, which are then used to produce a printing form. The prepared printing forms are then positioned in the printing press and used for printing. The printing press is connected to a control unit for monitoring the printing press and for inputting data relating to a print job.
If the printing forms are produced digitally, the prepress data are supplied to a data processing unit known as a Raster Image Processor, which converts the data into a bitmap. The bitmap is then used to image the printing plates either directly in the printing press or in a separate imaging apparatus. If necessary, the plates containing the image to be printed are then positioned in the printing press and the printing operation, which is controlled through a printing press control unit, is started.
However, a disadvantage of the system described above is that a manual combination of the data present in the RIP and the data present in the printing press, in particular the data relating to the print job, presents considerable difficulties. Such a combination of data even becomes impossible if the print job is formed of several printing operations, since the data of the individual printing operations cannot be combined. In such a case, an automatic reevaluation of the print job becomes impossible.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a method for controlling a printing process, which overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known methods of this general type, which provides better control over a print job to be executed and which offers an opportunity of re-evaluating the print job.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a method for controlling a printing process, in particular an offset printing process. The method comprises transferring data to a data processing unit, in particular a Raster Image Processor, storing the data in a database for relational linking among the data received by the database, and subsequently transferring the data to a printing press. The data transfer step is carried out either directly from the database to the printing press or from the database, through the data processing unit, to the printing press.
In accordance with a concomitant mode of the invention, the method further comprises supplying the database with data relating to a print job by a print job unit.
According to the invention, a database is provided which relationally combines the received data in such a way that the prepress data and the data that has been input into the printing press can be combined so that a universal re-evaluation of the data becomes possible. Therefore, an automatic re-calculation process may be initiated on the basis of the data stored in the database.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a method for controlling a printing process, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.